Kadayif manti / Turkish dumplings / Turkiški virtinukai

After working all weekend and doing housework yesterday, I was really ready for some reading. And when we couldn't find a TV remote control that our girl had put somewhere-God-knows-where, the whole evening was so long that I could even take a book and read a bit. Last Saturday I bought a new cookery book that I had been postponing to buy almost for 2 years. Even though my colleagues were telling me that I didn't need any books to cook well, but still I have this weakness for a good cookery inspiration. On the other hand, they were right as I didn't find anything I hadn't known before but I think it would have been a good help those two years ago. :)

Refika Birgul, who was raised in Istanbul surroundings and graduated from her mother-grandmother-aunt culinary schools, offers her take on Turkish cuisine. Though it is not a typical cookery book as more than a third of it is a compilation of essays and descriptions of local ingredients, spices, some advice on choosing good meat, what meat is necessary for kofte or kebab, what fish to buy and where, introduction of different Turkish pastry dough, bread, how to set a modern table with a traditional twist, how to make the food look more appetizing and appealing to all our senses ( hearing, smell, taste, texture, and appearance). Refika calls herself a 'fusion cook' as the food she makes combines all five senses,high quality and seasonal products and each recipe offers a surprise factor. So if you are a fan of traditional Turkish cuisine, you might be very surprised.

As I told you before, there aren't that many recipes ( at least not as much as you would expect from such a thick book), but all of them are based on traditional Turkish ingredients and recipes with a modern twist which makes them attractive and interesting. Here we have one of the most popular soups in Turkey - red lentil soup served with caramelized onions and pine nuts or sesame seeds, together with kadayif manti, Iskender kebab, kofte or pide. However, I find some recipes not my taste or just a bit too far from what I am used to, for instance, fresh yufka. Maybe it's just that I find unbaked yufka not very appetizing.

Yes, in her book Refika likes to surprise. One thing that I found interesting was her comments on traditional Turkish bread which is usually made from white flour. She says it is shocking that white bread which is produced from white flour which as we know takes much more effort to prepare is cheaper than whole wheat bread what is usually cheaper to produce but the price is higher. So when this misunderstanding is solved, maybe people will be able to think more about what they eat and think about being healthy. I also loved a lot of emphasis on seasonal, organic and local products. In the book you can find tables where fruit and vegetable harvest time is written, together with some advice to do some gardening even in small spaces.

This Kadayif Manti recipe was one of the first ones that cought my eyes and I knew I was going to make it. The recipe was introduced with a story that tells Turkish tradition of women gathering together in villages or in neighbourhoods and making so called 'more difficult-to-make' dishes. So manti is definitely one of them and they are so tiny and you have to make hundreds to feed a huge Turkish family. The tradition is to put one coin in one of the manti. When all the family or friends sit to eat dinner, the older put some money on the table and the person who finds the coin in manti, gets all the money. This way the awareness of money is tought to youngsters. Refika says that she was a picky eater as a child and would turn her head whenever some food came closer to her. On one occasions when all the family and relatives were eating manti, her mum forced her to open her mouth and pushed a tablespoon inside. And with the sound of a coin she really tasted manti for the first time and actually fell in love with them. Of course the coin was a mere surprise for her mum and her, but a good award, wasn't it?

The surprising factor in this recipe is the use of kadayif which is not common thing at all. Traditionally a thread like pastry is used to make famous Antakya knefe, tel kadayif or other desserts with nuts or pudding.

I made some changes in the original recipe and used chicken instead of beef and just stayed away from meatball seasoning mix as I am just not a fan of spice mixes that i don't know. Still the meal was very quick to make and very delicious with crispy outside and juicy meat inside topped with refreshing yogurt and tomato sauce that made a lovely dinner for my family.

Kadayif manti

( adapted from Refika'nin Mutfagi: Cooking New Istanbul Style, p.274)

( serves 2)

What we need:

250g kadayif

100g ground beef or chicken

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/3 bunch of parsley

1 tsp salt

a handful of bread crumbs

2 tbsp oil or butter ( I used a bit more)

for the yogurt:

3 cups yogurt

4 cloves garlic

salt

for the tomato sauce:

2 tsp tomato paste

2 tsp red pepper paste

4 tbsp tomato puree

1 tsp black pepper

a pinch of thyme

some fresh mint

4 tbsp olive oil or butter

What we have to do:

In a bowl combine ground meet, spices, bread crumbs and knead util well combined. Then chop the parsley in and knead for 1 more minute.

Shape the meatballs to the size of a hazelnut and wrap a long kadayif piece around it, covering each part. While doing this, oil your palms with oil so that when you are making the small meatballs, the kadayif will automatically be oiled ( I still used some extra butter and oil mix to brush the top of manti).

Preheat the oven up to 200C and brush the baking dish with some butter or oil. Arrange the manti in the dish. The meatballs will cook in 10- 15 minutes.

Beat the yogurt until it reaches the consistency of cream. Crush the garlic and add to the yogurt together with some salt. You can use a bit more salt as kadayif is unsalted.

For the sauce melt the butter in the pan and add tomato and red pepper paste, tomato puree. Stir the mixture until the ingredients boil and mix with each other. Take the pan off the heat and add black pepper, fresh mint and thyme.

Put the kadayif manti on a plate and generously add the yogurt with the sauce. Serve and enjoy!